She leaned in, lips brushing against my ear as she whispered the words that shattered me completely.
“The grand staircase. Four years ago. You weren’t dreaming. Reagan and I are having a blast sex.”
My breath hitched.
I had forced myself to forget.
The night I thought was just a twisted hallucination—a fever dream, a nightmare—came rushing back with brutal clarity.
The sound of laughter. The scent of alcohol and perfume.
Reagan. Dulcie.
Their bodies tangled together on the grand staircase. His mouth on her skin. Her moans echoing through the halls. I stood there, frozen in time. Watching my best friend and my husband destroy me in real time. I was sick that time and I remember I collapsed on the floor and everything went dark.
Dulcie sighed, running a finger down the diamond on her ring. “You were so easy to fool. Always so obedient.”
Something inside me cracked.
I lifted my head, meeting her gaze.
She expected tears. A breakdown. Begging, maybe. Instead, I smiled. Slow. Cold. She faltered. Just a flicker. But I saw it.
Good.
I stepped closer, forcing her to step back.
“Well,” I murmured, voice calm, “enjoy it while it lasts.”
She frowned. “What?”
I brushed past her, unlocking the door.
She could keep her victory. For now.
But the game had only just begun.
I couldn’t stay there. Not with her. Not with him.
I excused myself from the party, forcing a smile for the few people who stopped to ask if I was alright. My legs felt like they were made of lead as I navigated through the crowded room, the laughter of the guests a distant, suffocating hum in my ears. The weight of Dulcie’s words hung like a shroud around me, crushing my chest with every step.
I couldn’t stay in that house, surrounded by lies and betrayal.
Once I was in the car, I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The ride home was a blur, my thoughts spinning too fast to focus. I wanted to scream. I wanted to break everything, shatter the world Reagan had built around me. But instead, I held it all in. For my babies.
When I got home, the house felt foreign. Empty. The walls seemed to close in on me, and I knew, deep in my bones, I couldn’t escape. Not from him. Not from this.